The OC Episode Zero
by Prinder
Summary: This is just some background stories for my OCs (Fiora, JinChi, Racimous, and Darren) read at your own risk....
1. Fiora's Ep Zero also known as story one

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Episode zero: Fiora "Long Sword" Eleri

By Prinder

Warnings: slight language, death, blood, and guts all out violence!

Summery: this is Fiora's story before AC 195. This will give you some idea as to how Fiora thinks, why she thinks that way, how she came to think that way, and what she really means when she says something.

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Part one: the beginning

And NO! I'm not talking about how the earth was created!

In case you haven't figured it out… I'm Fiora Eleri (also known as Fiora LongSword, Fiora "long sword" Eleri, or just pain old, Fiora).

First off, I would like to say, that I hate this idea, I can't believe I'm actually sitting here writing my, very short, very pointless, life story. As if I don't have better things to go with my time! Oh well, guess this is the part where I make the best of it, right?

The beginning would be the day that I was born. From what I was told (by members of my family tree) I was born on AC 180, it was summer time from what they said (how they would know beats the hell out of me! We were in space at the time! There are no seasons in space). Anyways, they decided that I was born on June 21, AC 180. You know, just for kicks!

Everyone was there, all of my aunts and uncles, grandpapa, grandmamma (on my mother's side of the family, if you're wondering), granny, gramps (dad's side), Daddy and last, but not least, my big Brother Racy (also known as Race or Racimous).

I was born with a head full of bright red hair and yellow looking eyes (my hair became darker as I grew older, as did my eyes), I was a small thing, from what they said, barely weighing in at 6 pounds! I was to be small and scrawny from that point on (and I hate every goddamned minute of it!). Funny thing is, Mama wanted me that way.

Now I know what you're thinking. Why would she want me to be the short shit that I am today? And why do I say it like she had a choice in the matter?

The answer is simple. She did have a choice in that matter! She was a scientist, and not just any scientist, oh no! She was a master in DNA recoding! So she did a little tweaking here, a little tweaking there, and badda boom! Badda Bing! She had herself a whole new brand of human!

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate her for it, truth of the matter is, I can't hate anyone really (I'll get into that later), it was a dangerous time, even for us! It was a hard and down right scary time, and with good reason (also get to that later… just not now) so I can't really say that I'm upset with her changing me before she even really knew me, I don't mind it so much (other then the fact that I'm shorter then short) and there are some major league pluses because of it, but not what you would expect.

First of all, you all have noticed that I'm very strong fisted compared to my size (I've made dents in perfectly good titanium with a well placed punch), but that's not because of Mama's "adjustments" in the least.

You see. There is more then just one group of Shuttle folk… we are divided up into "teams" "groups" "divisions" whatever you want to call it. Anyways… each division hangs around one place when it's making either repairs, refueling, or just plain "chilling out" those places are located on the other planets in the solar system (my planet is Jupiter, if you must know), not counting Earth, it's moon, or the sun itself, of course.

That said, I have to tell you that because of our need to be in the orbits (sometimes even on the planet itself) a lot, our bodies are forced into unhealthy lifestyles (you try walking while the gravitational pull of Jupiter is hell bent on turning your bones into chalk dust!), hence why I'm so strong for someone of my size.

I would also like to add that because of the (VERY) toxic air that covers Jupiter, I have a (VERY) strong resistance to poisons, drugs, alcohol, and things like that… but lets keep in mind that just because nothing OVERLY physical happens to me, that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt me any! That just means that my body can't tell the difference.

Let me put it this way. You could poison me, I would feel the full affects and all that, but my body wouldn't react like most. Confusing, I know, but hey! What isn't in this world?

Okay. Now that I've explained what pluses AREN'T because of Mama playing around with my DNA code, I guess I should tell you what ARE.

My voice change thing, for one, my small size (my little brother is taller then I am for crying out loud!), and my "zone outs" (a slight flaw that I got because of that "tweaking").

But I can see that I'm not really getting anywhere with this so, I'm just going to stop with the explanations and let my story tell itself.

Um… enjoy?

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~Fiora "Long Sword" Eleri

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AC 183.

I didn't talk a whole lot back then. Didn't really need to. She always voiced what I wanted to say anyways. When I say "she" I mean my Mama. I guess she knew me best, I mean, we were always together. She never liked me to be far away from where she was. Now I know way.

I was only three years old when she did make me stay behind that one time. The Pluto division had a crisis on their hands. They were working on some new bio weapon of sorts, can't really remember the name of it, nor do I want to, she brought back pictures. Not a pretty sight.

I remember spending most of my days in her lab. I liked it there, for some strange reason, I found the cold stainless steel that covered most of it… oh I don't know… calming… I guess.

I spent most of that time alone in there just pouring over her databanks. Gathering information, I don't know what for, I just wanted to I guess. I know I know, odd thing for a three year old to do, I was weird what can I say? Besides, I had just mastered the art of reading not days before and I wanted to "show off" my skills. 

Not that there was anyone to show them off to. I was always a loner when Mama wasn't with me. Oh sure! I did hang with my Daddy, and my two brothers, Darren was two years old and Racimous was four by then (only one-year difference between all of us, that's kind of funny when you think about it). But most of my time was spent alone, in Mama's lab, reading anything and everything I could find in the databanks. I learned more in that one year then I ever did in any school that they wanted to send me to when I got older.

When she got back she told me about JinChi… and what great friends we would make if and when we ever met. I still can't believe that she was right, we don't admit it, but we really do get along better then we make out.

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AC 184.

Nothing overly important happened this year, at least, not that I can remember.

Well… there were these five mean, nasty, and down right UGLY looking men that came to talk to Mama one or twice, they would ask about me, and she would tell them about what new things I had learned how to do, and all on my own might I add.

I really didn't like them very much. But Mama was on speaking terms with them, so I guess it was okay. I really didn't like them; their names were Mr. H, O-Sama, Mr. J, and Mr. G. The weirdest names I had ever heard in my young life. And wouldn't be the last that's for sure!

They always looked at me funny, I think they were jealous of Mama, cause she had me and they didn't. Okay. So, maybe not, but that's what I thought back then!

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AC 185.

Oz and the Alliance put us on "leashes" this year. Not in the literal sense, no, they didn't put anything ON us per say, but they DID keep a close eye on us. I was really scared sometimes I admit it! I was only five!

And they were mean, and when I say, "mean" I mean down right NASTY! Whenever we docked on a colony, they would be there, ready and waiting, just waiting to line us all up and search our ships. They didn't care that there were children on those ships, they didn't care if little kids had nightmares because of what they would do if we were caught lying or hiding something on our ships, no, all they cared about was doing whatever it took to get what they wanted from us.

I remember when Granny and Gramps got caught smuggling supplies to some people on W-76632 of the L3 colony cluster. First they took the supplies, and burned them right before all of our very eyes. Then they took Granny and Gramps' ship, and blew it up, with the rest of the crew still in it, all ten thousand of them. But they weren't done yet, oh no! They were only just beginning! Next they beat both Granny and Gramps until they were broken, bloody and lifeless on the hard titanium floor. And just when you think that they couldn't possibly do anymore to us, they set fire to their bodies (what a foul smell that was) and had all of us that were left clean it up.

My brothers and I spent the next day huddled up underneath one of Mama's metal lab tables, crying our eyes out in her arms because of that. We weren't allowed to keep the bodies, they wouldn't let us give Granny and Gramps a proper funeral, and they took the ashes and tossed them into the garbage, like they were nothing more that pieces of trash. We didn't even get to say goodbye.

And now I'm crying! Gee thanks guys! I wouldn't have to be reliving all this if you all would just let me be about my past, the past is in the past… let's keep it that way… that's what I tell myself when I think about it. Remember when I would say that even though it was hard, I still had it better then most? Yeah well… I take it back…

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AC 186.

Ah…school, the fine art of shoving fifty kids into one room in the hopes of beating a little common sense into their otherwise empty heads. God must hate me.

Mama didn't do kindergarten with any of us, why bother? I mean all of us were reading and writing before we were five-years old. So here I was. At my first, but not by any means my last, school.

Mama wanted me to grow up pretending to be like everybody else, it could have all been part of spy training when you look at it, what better way to learn how to act like a normal kid then to be tossed into a whole fucking army of them? Okay, so maybe I wasn't all that trilled that I was there, but why would I be? I had been by Mama's side since before I could even walk! The only time we were ever really apart was when she went to Pluto to help out over there! And now, now I was just dropped into a tot sized war zone with only a backpack, notebook, crayons, and some (albeit very sharp looking) pencils!

I was trapped in "mini-hell" for two years before I re-wired half of school to blow up at midnight… no one was hurt! It was over the weekend… and I made sure that they knew it was me that did it too! It was my first attempt at sabotage, lets just say that I was more then happy to find that the only thing left standing was the front door and part of the west side wall.

They sent me on the next flight to L7 by morning light.

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AC 188.

This has got to be one of my more bittersweet memories. This was the year that I lost Mama and met Felina Star. What happened? Allow me to enlighten you…

We docked on colony X-18999 of L1 cluster. After the usual search of our ship, we went window-shopping (one of my little cousins was having a birthday that week and we were going to meet up with his family's ship in a few days and we wanted to get something for him that he really wanted, at least, that's what my Daddy said).

It started out normal enough. We were just exiting one of the bigger shops when the large screen above us caught Mama's eye. I couldn't hear what was being said over the crowds, so I don't really know what made both Mama and Daddy turn so pale. All I know is that something wasn't very right. Not that I could really do anything about it.

Mama told Daddy to take Racimous and Darren back to the ship and she pulled me aside and told me something that I would never forget.

"Do you remember the five old men that used to come and visit Mama, Fiora?" she asked, she was barely speaking above a whisper.

I only nodded. I still wasn't very talkative yet, little did I know that, that would change soon enough, that I would need to be sooner then I would have hoped.

"Dda, dda! Good… take this disk and keep it safe for me, they need it, and don't you look at it, Fiora, okay? You swear you wont?" she said as she gave me a strange disk that looked very much like a CD.

I nodded again as I put it in my pocket. Guess I should mention that "dda" is welsh for "good" as it was my native language, my family's native language.

"Fiora, mi Vychan un, take care my little one" she said as she kissed me on my forehead, murmuring her pet name for me, in her soft and slow welsh.

"Mama?" that was one of the few things that I ever really said then, I only really said anything when I was confused… hence why I talk so much now… seems like I'm always confused these days!

"Little one, my little Fiora, quick, go back to the ship, tell Daddy and the others that I'll see them on the other side" she said as she turned me to face away from her and tried to make me go.

I wouldn't budge. I only turned and looked at her again as I prepared myself for the longest speech I had ever made by that point. "No! You're planning something Mama! I'm saying right here!" okay, so that wouldn't win any academy awards, but what the hell? I was only eight!

"Fiora, if you do this for me I'll give you my necklace! Just go! Please! Please, Fiora! Go! Everyone is waiting!" she said as she knelt down and placed her hands firmly on my shoulders and shook me back and forth, as if trying to make me understand.

"And they'll still wait, for you Mama! Why would I want your dopey necklace anyways?" okay, okay, so what was pretty cold, but I never did like being bribed.

"Fiora, please, try to understand, you have to go now!" she said, she sounded like she was really upset scared, I would almost say. It's not everyday that a mother pleads with her child to do something, you know.

I finally gave in, I nodded and just as I was about to go I heard her turn and murmur "no" before a gunshot rang out behind me.

I turned just in time to see Mama fall to the ground, I didn't even notice that her killer was still standing there as I dropped to my knees and lifted her head.

"Mama? Mama?" I was trembling, its understandable, I mean, my mother was just shot down in cold blood after all.

"F-Fiora, oh my little one…" she was gasping for air. Her lungs were filling with blood I think.

It was official. My Mama was going to die. I think she knew it too. But I had to ask, just to make sure.

"Mama, are you ready to say goodbye?" okay, so that didn't come out like I was asking if she was ready to meet her maker, but once again I must stress that I was only eight at the time.

"…I am," she didn't gasp once during that, amazingly, she was only trying to think about it. I just hope that I'm that sure of myself when it's my turn. Not that I plan on going anytime soon!

"Now isn't that touching!" that was her murderer, wasn't it? I hope that he's happy. He just took away a wife, lover, daughter, scientist, and mother of three with one shot. I hope he rots in hell.

"BITE ME!" I might not have talked so much back then, but that doesn't mean that I didn't make my words count when I used them.

"Say goodnight little missy" he said as he raised his gun and honed the crosshairs on me.

I wasn't scared… okay… so maybe I was, but just a little. Didn't I mention that I was only eight?

I don't remember all that much, I closed my eyes, tightly, and waited for the gun to go off.

At the last second, with the last of her strength, Mama launched herself at me and knocked me down. The bullet grazed my shoulder. I still have the scar, you can only see it if you're looking for it, but it's still there.

"RUN!" she screamed (or at least she tried to) as she gave me a harsh push on my back as she took another bullet to the head and fell with a thump. Dead.

I did the only thing I could do. I ran. I ran as fast as my chicken legs would carry me.

This may sound dopey to all of you but, believe it or not, I did the dumbest thing I ever could have done. I ran back to my mother's body. Her killer was still there, very much confused by my lack of common sense, as I grabbed hold of Mama's necklace, and with one good yank, I ripped it from her neck and was already running away. My fist still firmly gripped on the pendent that hung from the now broken chain.

It was as if I had opened my eyes for the first time. I was suddenly painfully aware of the mobile suit battle going on all around me as I tried to find my way back to the docks. 

Bright yellow beams of light, blasting all around, people running this way and that, the screams of women and children sounded everywhere as husbands, fathers, and brothers met their ends on the battle field. But that wasn't even the beginning of the horrific experience! Oh no! The colony itself just HAD to decide that it wasn't going to stay in one piece during all of this. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, buildings came crashing down, fires exploded from the rubble. Hell had just discovered the great wonder that was this very colony.

Maybe I was all but a little TOO aware of what was going on before me, maybe I was just too damn slow, or maybe it was just the fates way of saying "fuck you Fiora Eleri!" because at that very instant, the apartment complex BEHIND me came crashing down in was about to bury me in a mountain of rubble.

You know, it's really funny how fate likes to toy with my life. Just when I'm thinking that it's over, fate pulls an ace out of her sleeve and decides to let me live, just so that she can torment me again.

I let out one last scream, I was so sure I was going to die (it wasn't even funny anymore by this point) when, quite suddenly, I was knocked down by something, or someone is more like it, and sent hurling with my so-called savor just barely out of the way of the falling structure. Two inches to be precise, to be VERY precise

Now I have to tell you, I had one hell of a fucking headache by the time all was said and done. You would think that said savor would have hung around long enough for me to thank her, WRONG! She was back on her feet at a moments notice, and with a weird look from her aqua eyes and a swish of her moss brown hair she was gone! Gone baby! Solid gone!

"DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND THAT I WILL FORGET THIS! HEY KID! WE SHUTTLE FOLK REPAY DEBTS!" I called out just before she ran out if sight. I would have to say that I spoke more in that one day then I ever did in all of my tender eight years of life, combined!

I don't think she ever did send a reply; I made sure to burn her face into my memory before continuing on my way, I mean, who knows, I might have been able to help her out of a jam someday. You have NO idea how right I was.

I didn't think that I would see them before I got back to the ship. But what do you know? There they were, my father and brothers, hiding behind what was left of a brick wall, firing clip upon clip of ammo at a mobile suit. Yeah, that worked REAL well…NOT! They were using PISTOLS for crying out loud! That's like trying to blow up a battle cruiser by using a be-be gun! IT ISN'T GOING TO WORK!

It's really funny how logic escapes you when the adrenalin kicks in. God must have made humans just so that he wouldn't be bored all day.

When who all that was left of my family saw me, we all made a brake back to the ship. Amazingly, getting back to the ship was the easiest part of all this. It was like they WANTED us to get away. I hate it when I'm right.

Once we were safely back among the stars, and far away from any colony, Daddy looked us all over. Racy had a busted shoulder, some bruises, and a cracked rib, but other then that? He was alive and breathing… that's all that really counts, right? Darren got away lucky, only a sprained ankle, and a skinned knee. Me? Well other then for my bullet wound, I was bumped, bruised, and scratched. But other then that we were all okay.

The only problem was, nobody was talking, nobody wanted to voice what we all knew. Mama was dead, and not just dead, but murdered. No one asked what I saw, what I knew, and I was perfectly fine with that, I didn't feel all that much about telling them right now anyways.

I still had the pendent that hung from her necklace in the palm of my hand; it was really pretty actually, when you stop and really look at it; it was a large pale blue gem with shiny silver around its edges. Mama used to let me play with it while she worked sometimes, guess that's why she thought that I liked it, I don't; I love that necklace.

Daddy saw that I had it and took it away, told me that I shouldn't have done that; that it wasn't right to steal from the dead. I wasn't stealing it! She said I could have it! I went and hid in the air vents after that.

He did give it back though, it was about two weeks later, and along with it, he gave me a small square box, said that the gem wasn't what it seemed, it really was a locket, but instead of pictures, it held a key to the box that he gave me, said that it held all of the things that Mama held dear. What a load of crap. That's what I thought when he told me that. I hate it when I'm wrong.

In that box were some of the greatest things that I would always treasure. I didn't know it then, I wouldn't know just how much I would love what was in that box until I was much older, when I got up the nerve to open it. Duo would remember that, he was there you know. But I'll get into that later. There are still quite a few years before that that still need to come.

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AC 189.

God hates my guts. He sent me an evil in "sheep's clothing" I shall always be doomed to call: Aunt Kiora! She was my Mama's evil twin (I'm serious here! She really is my Mama's twin sister). How did this happen to me? What the hell did I do to deserve this?

She arrived two months after Mama's passing, dressed in a puffy bright pink dress, white high heels, and parasol. She looked like princess bubble-yum, Marry Poppins, and Medusa the snake-haired bitch from hell, ALL ROLLED INTO ONE!

Okay, okay so I admit I didn't think that when she first arrived. But I would in the course of two days. What did she do? Glad you asked!

First she repainted my bedroom, from its rich, dark red walls, to bright neon pink! Then she took out all of my things that she deemed "too boyish" and filled my room with lamebrain DOLLS! (Which I promptly ripped the heads off and mutilated the bodies, I was going though a tough time then okay?) My room became known as "dolly-town" lucky me…NOT! It was a good thing that I didn't spend a lot of time in my postage-stamp sized room anyways. I lived in engineering for the most part. But she wasn't done there, oh no! Next she had to toss out all of my old clothes and then she bought me nothing but dresses! And not just any dresses sports fans! PINK, LACEY, FRILLY, PUFFY dresses!

Lets just say that we never really saw eye to eye on a lot of things. I can't tell you how glad I am that my brothers didn't let her get away with trying to turn me into a "nice young lady that would be absolutely PERFECT for marriage when she gets older!" OH! Did I ever HATE hearing that!

We would sneak off at every chance that we could get and practice our fighting skills, Daddy showed us the basics but we still needed to improve upon them, over the course of the years we had grown a strong loathing for Oz and the Alliance, and so we, the Shuttle kids, formed a small co-op group, hell bent on making trouble for those wannabe people.

Not one of us was overly afraid to die, I mean, we all are going to die anyways, right? So why not go down fighting? That was how we looked at things. Racy was our ringleader for the most part, he was the oldest, after all, I mean, why not?

By the time the year was out we had at least one of our "men" on every Cargo Shuttle making mischief. We attacked so quick and so quiet, they didn't even know what hit them until it was WAY too late. We were that good!

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AC 190.

This was the year that we got our big brake in our little group. Darren came running in that day, waving a piece of paper in the air, as he told us the news, the colony rebels wanted to talk to us! Apparently, word had gotten around about what we were doing to the rebels. It was a big step; this meant that we were no longer the "once in a blue moon" mishap. We were walking, talking, and fighting with the big boys now!

The rebels wanted us to meet them under a stone bridge in the park on the colony T-77723 of the L5 colony cluster.

I don't know how they managed to sweet talk me into it, but before I knew it, I was with Racy and two others, waiting under that very bridge, knee deep in murky, ice cold, water.

I think they were surprised to find out that we were nothing but a bunch of "dumb" Shuttle kids. I was laughing at their faces. I couldn't help it! Their jaws practically hit the floor!

"You gonna stop staring? Or are you gonna stand there looking like a goldfish for the next two hours?" Race asked with a smirk. He must have found it just as funny as I did.

Somehow I ended up doing most of the talking, I wasn't as cocky then as I am now, and I guess they figured that if we could pull off the stunts that we did, we had to be just as good, if not better, then they were. From that point on, we were taking orders from the big boys, the colony rebels!

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AC 193.

The return of Mama's old, ugly, friends signified a "changing of the winds" something was going to happen, our whole group knew it, Oz knew it, the Alliance knew it, Rom-a-feller knew it, everyone knew something was going to happen, but the big question was, what exactly was going to happen?

I remember handing over the disk. Now I'm really sorry that I swore not to look at it, it might have been of great importance, oh well! Guess I'm just going to have to live with it, huh?

This was also the year that I met JinChi for the first time. I was walking the docks, looking for a Shuttle folk run shop where I could get some rations. I was going to be going on a trip into an Alliance base (I was going to make a nice big boom with it) and I didn't want to starve while I was there. Anyways… I was walking when I saw a large crowd of soldiers gathered around in a circle, now me, being one who is always more then willing to get the crap beat out of just for the sake of another's health, ran over there and started pushing my way through so that I could actually see.

It was a Chinese girl, about my age, shorter then me (but not by much), with hair pulled into two buns on either side of her head and a one of those traditional Chinese robes (it was purple by-the-way), and boy was she ever getting pounded on! Shit! Seven guys were pushing her this way and that, punching her and kicking her again and again and again! Oh sure, she was fighting back, but she was totally out numbered here, otherwise I think she could have handled it, but who am I kidding? She was in deep mother fucking shit here!

It only took me but I second to reach over and grab a one of the attacking soldiers fist what was on a crash course with said Chinese girl's face.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it ain't nice to pick on a lady?" I asked innocently as I let him eat a knuckle sandwich, I think I put too much spice in it; it knocked him out cold!

"Ha" that came from the Chinese girl as she pulled herself back onto her feet and straightened her robes, or whatever they were, and got back into some kind of Kung-Fu fighting stance.

"Hope you don't mind! You looked like you was havin' SO much fun that I thought that I would join you!" I said with a smile.

"Not at all" she replied as we proceeded to "open up a can of whoop ass"

Didn't take us very long to take them all out. Had to make a brake for it once or twice so that we could regroup. But we did pretty well I would say.

"Not bad! Not bad at all! The name's Fiora, Fiora 'Long Sword' Eleri" I said once everything was all said and done.

"Wong, JinChi Wong, it's a pleasure" she replied.

"You not Shuttle folk?" I asked.

"I am… I just prefer not to use that name unless necessary" she replied.

Now what I am talking about? There is an easy answer to that. I'm talking about the "middle name" that I use. Long Sword is a phony. That's right. Every one that flies a Shuttle has one; it's normally a kind of old weapon, hence Long Sword. If you're Shuttle folk, you have one of those names, don't ask way… it's a long story… too long…

"To each his own… Say! My Mama met you! You're from the Pluto division!" okay, so I was "winging it" there, but I had a hunch okay? Can't blame me for wanting to follow up with it!

"Yes, I am from that division, how does your mother know me?"

"Did, she did know you… she's kinda dead now… her name was Dr. Jennora E. Eleri" I was being sarcastic with that "kinda" part.

"Dr. E? Yes, I remember her well, so you are her daughter that she spoke of" she replied.

"You could say that" she could also say that the planets orbit around the sun, it still doesn't make it any less true.

"Hum… thank you for your assistance, I am in debt to you, and I never forget to repay my debts, good day, and goodbye" she said as she bow, turned on her heel, and stalked off.

Figures that I would end up being "friends" with someone like JinChi, oh well… that's life for you… it sucks!

****

AC 194.

Not much more to go people… it's only taken me eleven pages!

What happened in this year isn't all that fancy really. We had received a request from the colony rebels that they wanted one of us trained for a kind of spy job, for what reason, they didn't say, but it was in the next two days time we were all gathered together to decide who would get this so-called training.

I remember sitting in the way back of the room, out of sight, out of mind, that was what I was going for. Truth-be-told I didn't want anything to do with it, we're shuttle folk not soldiers! This wasn't what I had in mind when I signed up for this. 

I wasn't really paying a whole lot of attention to what was being said; if I did I might have found out just how in the fuck they decided that I was best for the job! Ah well… what can I say? I was tired and I was bored for crying out loud!

One of the colony rebels was there, and the very minute it was decided that I was the unlucky draftee, he ushered me into the training room and started drilling me on undercover ops.

Now that I look back on it I have to say that I owe him big time! He taught me everything I know about the spy business.

It's really funny how the some of the best things that has ever happened to me, happened not because I wanted it to, but because I DIDN'T want it to. Is it weird that I can find the humor in that?

Yeah.

I remember talking to Jin and asking her to be my informant, you know, just so that I don't fall out of the loop or something, and besides that, I needed somebody to "dig up dirt" on whoever it was that I was going to be "spying" on. 

She sucked at that job by the why. When I did find out that it was you Gundam Pilots that I had to spy on, I know I was in deep shit! I ended up doing most of my "digging" late at night, when everyone was asleep. It was easy to get out, I just had to open my bedroom window, jump out, do an impact roll, get up, and run off to the cargo docks. Our docks are the best places to get information on someone or something. We shuttle folk are nosy in that way.

Jin was the one I sent my info to most of the time. True enough, she did find some information on you all, nothing fancy, but it was still something.

But I'm getting off the subject here aren't I? Oh well. There really wasn't anything else of great importance that happened in this year other then that.

****

The ending point, for now

See the above. Yeah that's right; it's almost over, key word being "almost" here folks! I still have some explaining to do, remember?

Why is it that I can't really hate anyone? Haven't you ever looked at my personality before? Hate just isn't one of my emotions, I guess. It's right up there with glaring at someone. I just don't do it.

Don't believe me? Just watch what I do when I'm having an overly bad day, you'll see what I mean.

Now, as for the whole "middle name" thing I guess a good way to sum it all up is that my Daddy wanted to hide the fact that we were related to Mama, so he would have us use the words "Long sword" as a fake last name. He told us that we were playing a joke on Oz (I don't think I have to tell you that we bought that crazy story), and that it would be funny to watch them busting their brains out over how we weren't in their databanks, which I'll admit, it was.

Now I'm going to stop right here for a second and ask you if you think I seem not just a little too perfect.

Well? Do I?

Truth of the matter is. I have more flaws then I do of perfections. I guess, even though Mama wanted me to be capable of being as strong of a fighter as I am, she also wanted me to have some flaws, you know, just to remind me that even with all of her tweaking, I was still human. Under all of these masks and layers of sink tissue, I'm still just like everyone else at heart. That I'm not invincible if you prick me, do I not bleed the same blood as you do? Do I not shed the same tears of sorrow for my lost loved ones? Do I not breathe the same air as you do? Does my heart not beat as yours does?

Just because I chose to show some emotions more then others (like laughter, happy-ness, joy, excitement, and sometimes sadness) doesn't mean that I don't feel them just the same, it just means that they're just a little more dormant then others.

My life was hard, there is no disagreeing with that, but it wasn't overly terrible either. There were happier times; sure, everyone has at least one happy moment in his or her lives, right?

I just learned to look at some of my not-quite-as-good times with a smile and laugh because that's all I can really do, I could cry and be all depressed about it, but then, what would the point be in that? It wouldn't change my past any; it won't bring back Mama, Granny, Gramps, or any of the many others that I've lost.

Why cry over something that you know you can't change? Why even bother?

The ones that I lost died for a reason, a wish, and a hope for a better life for others left behind. I don't want to be at a standstill, looking back with tears forever in my eyes, while the rest of the universe goes on ahead with out me! I have too much to offer to this world, this world as too much to offer me!

And I'm crying again. I swear you guys are so going to get it later for making me do this!

Don't look at me like that! Yeah you were laughing weren't you? Admit it, you laughed at some of the things that had happened to me, some of the things that I MADE happen.

Keep laughing. Cause in the end, when everything is all said and done, you'll look back at all the times you could have laughed, but sent glares, yells, swears, and shed tears instead.

I hope you've seen what you needed to, I hope this helps you figure out just what in the hell makes me tick, think, act, feel, and do as I do.

Could you look back into your past and smile at some of the sadder moments like I do? Would you even try now that you've seen me do it? Would you even think it worth it?

What about laughing? Could you? Or would you even attempt to laugh off your past demons. My demons tickle me a lot, couldn't you tell?

Would you tempt fate like I did (and still do)? Do I seem so crazy now that you've seen and heard how I think, act, and feel? Do I seem even crazier now?

Just think about it, you'll get it, sooner or later.

The year now is AC 197. The war is over now… I leave this story with those years still blank, you know what happened in them, why waste my time? Besides that, I'm running out of ink in my pen.

So I guess this is where I say my goodbyes, huh? Can't say that it wasn't fun; it was; it really was.

I've played the village idiot for most of my life, for the simple fact that people don't question idiots for fear of being seen as one itself. People don't think twice when they see or hear me; they just see the babbling moron that I want them too. I'm no fool, I see the looks, the spiteful sneers, and the glares they send my way. I hear the insults, the names they call me, and all the nasty comments they make.

I'm not blind, I'm not deaf, I'm not numb to this world around me, I don't live in a bubble where nothing can touch me, hurt me, harm me. I see anything and everything around me quite clearly I do hear the half-truths. I do understand it when people make me the butt of a joke, that they meant for it to cause me some form of pain.

I just chose to laugh with them, to smile back, to joke along and alone at the same time.

I'm not untouchable, I have been touched, though, it not so much in the physical then in the mental.

I'm just as real as the rest of you. My lies are only lies because you only want to see them that way, in some way, if you look at them close enough, you will see that it is the truth, just not at all how you would have pictured it.

I think I've dragged my point along in the dirt long enough; one can only butcher something like that so much you know!

There's that laughing again. Don't quit now! I like it!

You people really do need to laugh more.

Tempt fate see if it tempts back.

__

~Fiora "Long Sword" Eleri-Maxwell


	2. JinChi's Ep Zero

****

JinChi Wong's Episode zero

By Prinder

Warnings: Death, blood, violence, anal-retentive girl on PMS

Summery: this is a story about JinChi's past up to AC 195. This will give you an idea about what Jin thinks and feels about the world around her, her friends, her enemies, and everything in between.

Note: I've decided to have Jin "Write" this story so as to give it just a little more depth, there will be other Episode Zeros from other people in JinChi and Fiora's lives when they were growing up.

****

And so it begins…

After reading what Fiora wanted to say I decided to give my own input about our lives, and how our roads managed to cross and intertwine.

Unlike Fiora, I haven't had my DNA altered in my young life. But that doesn't mean I am not without any adaptations.

As explained (rather crudely) by Fiora, we "shuttle folk" tend to have slight differences from that of those on earth, the moon, and the colonies.

I, being one from the Pluto division, grew up in the one of the colder places from the sun, making me easily adapted to harsh and cold places. This also has its drawbacks; I have a low tolerance for extreme heat. 

In addition, because of the lack of gravity, my body is more susceptible to injuries, such as broken bones, but I have the advantage of being used to fighting in zero gravity where others do not.

We of the Pluto division are best known for our abilities for scientific development. Our planet is the best place for such tests for it is the farthest out of the way for someone from earth or the colonies to see anything that we might be working on and houses the best conditions for chemicals of more unstable nature to be used safely.

Meaning that despite other planet division's efforts to keep up with our progress in such things, they fall hopelessly short.

But we aren't without our disadvantages, it seems, that although we are exceptionally good at scientific research, other planets are exceptionally good at other things where we are lacking.

I am including a listing of each planet and what its division is best at.

Mercury - known as a gathering place for slyer shuttle folk, and for a well of information on the lesser-known things going on.

Venus - known for its ships built for smuggling cargo, Mineral mines, and seedy people.

Earth - there is no Shuttle division that runs this planet, as so stated from the above.

Mars - is known best for its mineral, and the very rare, Gundanium mines, and shuttle building facilities. Known for its shuttles that can tow heavy cargo, such as asteroids.

Jupiter - one of the three top divisions for chemicals and the manufacturing of said chemicals, and a crystal like substance which we use for a longer lasting fuel source then what comes from the Colonies and Earth. Known for its large shuttlecrafts.

Saturn - is one of the three divisions for fuel and resources, mostly used for smaller ships. Also known for its long distance traveling shuttles.

Uranus - known for its technological development facilities, and fuel used for adapted shuttlecrafts.

Neptune - known for the only unmodified shuttle design that can enter all atmospheres, and under water facilities.

Pluto - known for scientific development facilities.

Unlike Fiora, I am not going to go into needless details about my past. I was born on September 26 AC 180. Lets leave it at that.

That said, I can now continue on with this story.

Thank you for your time.

__

Wong, JinChi.

****

AC 183

Many of my family died in this year, my parents included. 

It was a very rare instance. Some bumbling idiot dropped a canister full of a powerful toxin known as Tictromioum Gulimate, also known as Triple G, TG, G3, or the Great Gas Giant, if my memory serves me right; it was a air born toxin that slowly rotted away ones flesh, burned out your lungs on contact, and turned your bones into a scummy white paste. Fiora was very much correct when she said that it wasn't pretty.

Our best scientists were working on a way to safely dispose of the toxin without causing harm to anyone. Although we tried to keep word of this problem from spreading to the other divisions, information leaked out to the Mercury division and from there it spread like the very toxin itself.

Fortunately for me, I wasn't in that lab when that canister dropped, however, many of my friends and loved ones were.

If I do recall correctly, I was located in the children daycare center. And if you must know, I was busy drawing a picture of my parents with a set of crayons at the time (you laugh. You die).

None of us knew what was happening at the time. My Grandfather, Wong Chin, told us much later.

Our scientists tried everything they could think of, but it seemed like there was no way to stop, let alone get rid of, the toxin that threatened our vary lives and way of life.

Then came this Dr. E. her full name as she told us was Doctor Jennora Eleri, but everyone, including myself, referred to her as the former rather then the later.

When she first stepped off of her shuttle she was greeted by what little of the toxin that couldn't be contained in the lab and promptly went into a coughing fit. This shocked many of us, she was from the Jupiter division, and they have a high resistance to such things. Many of my elders wondered just how powerful this toxin must be, if it can reduce someone from the Jupiter division into a convulsing form on the floor as she fought to steady herself as blood would drip from her mouth and nose, undoubtedly, from her lungs as they were torn apart by the burning gas in the air.

It was then that we truly realized just how much trouble we were in.

When she had gotten her hacking under control she clambered to her feet, falling back onto her knees once or twice in doing so, and waving away the offer of assisting her in standing that came from the men. She pulled a handkerchief out of her starch white lab coat and covered her nose and mouth with it in an attempt to block the chemicals from attacking her further.

"I would say that I was glad to be here, but that is hardly the truth," she mumbled through her kerchief and her hand as she pinched her nose gently to stop the bleeding.

"If circumstances weren't as dire as they are now, we wouldn't be glad to see YOU either!" one of the more cocky of our scientists snapped.

"Yes, well, it doesn't look like anyone is getting what they want today now does it?" Dr. E. replied.

"You just think you can waltz in here, snap your fingers, and fix this?" he yelled.

"No, not at all, I do not think that in the lest, a cure for your predicament will take much more then that. No, it is not I that thinks that, it is YOU that does" she replied.

Looking back, I suddenly realize where Fiora got her sharp tongue!

It was my Grandfather that jumped in and put a stop to the slander before it got out of hand. "Please, please! Lets have SILENCE!" he eyed the apposing sides carefully, daring them to continue, "that's better, regardless of your reasons Dr. E. or our predicament, all help to solve this problem is greatly appreciated, ALL HELP" he said, when he was sure that they would listen, no doubt.

"Right! Now, I want to take a look at just what it is that I am up against, is there a research laboratory available for me to use somewhere?" Dr. E. asked as if the exchange of hateful words never occurred.

My grandfather simply nodded and pointed down the west wing hallway with his cane.

Dr. E. murmured her thanks and proceeded to the first empty laboratory that she came across.

One might ask where I was during this entire ruckus. One must understand that it was a very traumatic moment for us all, this especially for one such as myself at such an innocent and naïve age, at that time. I was currently located hiding behind my grandfather, peering out after Dr. E. from behind his lab coat.

She didn't venture far from the laboratory while she was there. After two months she requested that I assist her in her work, for the simple fact that she "couldn't work without someone to make some form of noise, she would surely go mad from the beeps and hums of the lab without it" I do believe those were her exact words.

Truthfully, I believe that she only wanted to talk of her daughter and of her home. She spoke of everything she could think of, I would say, she would even resort to mindless gibberish, when the time called for it.

I recall one day she, loudly, proclaimed that I was "just like the little girl that I keep at home, so silent, so withdrawn, I would think that you would enjoy each others company very much… how I miss my little one…" she would say, I would have to wonder, being a woman of such open nature as she, just how she came to have a daughter such as she described.

Time passed, many suffered, and still she pressed on. Many of us fled, believing it was hopeless, and traveled to other divisions. Until, at last, a solution had been discovered! Dr. E. complained about how simple it really was, saying "I can't believe, I just simply cannot believe that this thing has been knocking me between my eyeballs at all hours of the night all this time!"

Regardless of how she came across it, or how long it took her, we were, finally, free of the retched G3 for good.

One thing troubles me to this day, however. When asked how she found the cure, she simply smiled with an odd glint in her golden honey eyes and a flick of her ebony hair as she said "it wasn't I who did it all, I must thank my little helper, she did more then just keep my company, even though, she might not even realize it… yet…"

And with that, we bid our goodbyes, farewells, and wishes of luck to her as she boarded her shuttle once again and returned to her family.

It Saddens me to think that her life was cut so short, although she might have done most of the talking in all the time that I knew Dr. Jennora Eleri, I came to look upon her with a kind of respect, and trust, almost friendship.

****

AC 186

It was the Chinese New Year when I first started learning Tai Chi and Kung Fu, Fiora was very correct when she stated what I took a Kung Fu fighting stance when she and I first met. This was the year in which I first started my training on such things.

Although I am not of the age to wear it as of yet, I am what is known as a "Black belt" which is one of the higher ranks one can achieve in the arts. 

I will not pretend that I am not proud of my skill level for anyone. Not even Wufei. The same holds true to pretending that I do not have it.

True enough, I will not brag about it, when studying Kung Fu, one also learns self-discipline, self-confidence, and most importantly, self-control.

The whole point of learning such skills is, actually, not to fight, but to train oneself and improve upon ones own weakness. It is easy to defeat ones opponent, it is far more difficult to defeat oneself.

The meaning behind that is simple. To become a master in the arts, you must not defeat your enemy you must defeat yourself. You are all that stands in your way in everything that you do. It is your own limitations that limit you. Upon braking free of them, you learn what it truly means to be a warrior.

A lesson well learned, and well taught from my Grandfather who taught me everything I know. But that alone is not nearly as much as he himself knows.

It was he who told me this: "it is not by age, but by wisdom that one gains knowledge"

I have taken that to heart even since.

****

AC 193

One has to wonder how I got attacked on this date. Truth of the matter is, I hardly know myself; I was sitting in a seedy club called "The Cloak and Dagger" I was looking for someone who could get me into touch with the rebel shuttle children. I recall asking the man at the bar what he knew, he merely waved me away and ignored my questions. I remember thinking just how dangerous these so-called "Kids" were, if they had adults running scared and silent about what they were doing exactly at the time.

I realize now that I must have asked the wrong people the right questions. For in the next few moments I was being jumped on by more then twenty men in uniform at least twice my size and being pulled out into the streets where I was "pounded on" (as Fiora so well put it later when the whole ordeal was over with) inside a human fighting ring.

I was doing everything within my power to end whole "episode" as quickly as possible. But it seems that no matter how many I managed to knock out, two more took his place and soon I was nearing my wits end.

This seemingly went on for hours until a punch was grabbed and stopped in mid-flight by a small brown haired, brown-eyed girl.

I was still slightly stunned by the brutal beatings when she arrived, seemingly, out of nowhere, so when she made the remark "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it isn't right to pick on a lady?" it didn't fully register in my mind at the time. And when one of my Captors fell victim to a punch of her own, I couldn't help but be slightly surprised and my reaction was akin to a short laugh. A "Ha" if you will.

I got back onto my feet (when my attacker fell I was knocked down with him), dusted off my robes, and took a defensive stance (which was, oddly enough, actually a Kung Fu stance as Fiora unknowingly guessed).

She must have assumed that I was amused by what she had said and not, dare I say it, shocked by her strength for she quipped the words "Hope you don't mind! You looked like you was having so much fun that I thought that I would join you!"

I could barely hide my smirk from that as I sent her a calm reply as we ended that fight together.

Hum. An interesting thing, she says that she is taller then I; she is incorrect; she only seems as such because she wears shoes with three inch thick soles on them. She was taller, but in truth she wasn't, leave it to that troublemaker to still lie about such things.

She has what many would call a "Napoleon complex"

An interesting thing about Fiora's fighting skills; they are hopelessly flawed; it is a wonder that she hasn't been killed yet! Her legs are too close together, her fists held to high and too lose, I am amazed that she can even punch! When her feet aren't too close together is when she is either 1. Just coming to a stop, 2. Running at someone, 3. Scrambling to get back onto them, or 4. Kicking. In all of these cases she feet are too far apart. 

Her fighting style is a breed of all its own; she relies mainly on what she has around her (tables, chairs, poles, knives, her body, and those "gismos" that she carries around her belt and in her backpack. You get the idea) and the mindset of "I'm going to die sometime anyways, but at least this way I die fighting" within a battle, this makes her 1. Very unpredictable, 2. Dangerous, and 3. Most likely to live

After all of my attackers were either knocked out (by me) or killed (Fiora did most of that, I would have no part in taking a life) we discovered the connection between us (Dr. E.) and I learned of said connection's passing.

When we introduced ourselves to each other I didn't speak my "shuttle name" when I told her mine.

I will tell you now that my "shuttle name" is Katana; it is a dagger like weapon of possibly Japanese or Chinese decent. Had I used this name I would have proclaimed myself as Katana Wong. But as I said then to Fiora: I do not like to use it unless I deem it necessary.

After that first encounter with Fiora many things happened. I shall list them in order.

1. She took me to the shuttle rebel's headquarters where I joined their cause.

2. She and I went on many (nerve-wrecking) missions with each other.

3. Had just as many "close-calls"

4. I provided her with the chemicals for her "exploding balls" (Silver, Brass, Copper, Bronze, Gold, and Steel balls that contain the many different forms of gasses that do different things)

5. She begged me to teach her how to do that "Jackie Chan thing" (Kung Fu) that I do when I have to fight (I didn't teach her)

And 6. Time passed.

****

AC 194

Hum. Fiora and her senseless babble. Had she not wasted her time ranting and raving over pointless details, she would have finished her "Episode Zero" much sooner and with a lot fewer pages. My story comes to a close here. But this ending will not be in anyways short I am afraid.

Fiora says that she didn't know how she got "drafted" into the spy mission for the simple fact that she wasn't paying attention. I will tell you now that it was I that suggested that she be the perfect choice.

I didn't really expect everyone else to agree.

She came to me later and requested that I aid her in her mission as an "information gatherer" if you will. Of course, I agreed, albeit, very reluctantly.

When asked why she wanted me to assist her; she merely replied with (and I quote): "Because there isn't a person in our friendly little group that wouldn't like to see me hanged, at least you can say so to my face! I trust them just about as far as I could kick them! At least this way, I know where I stand with you, I have no clue about where I am with the others"

There are times when Fiora's twisted logic makes perfect sense. This is one of those times.

****

Ending notes

All through my life, I have studied those closest to me, my family, my comrades, my enemies, and my friends, and after doing such; I have come to these conclusions of them:

Heero Yuy: although he assumes the cold, calm, cool, collected, calculated, and emotionless "perfect soldier" he is quite the opposite behind the mask I would think. If one were to look passed the outer shell, one would see that it is the eyes of a human that truly portrays their emotions and not the words or actions of the person in question.

Duo Maxwell: He carries the most complex mask that I have ever seen yet, and smile and a cheery face, no one would think to look past the infectious grin. But once again, it is the eyes that tell the truth, although his are sporting a mask themselves. I have to say that he will either need mental help (we all will I would say) or, as Fiora would put it, a "nice room with padded walls and free jackets without any arm wholes in them"

Trowa Barton: simple, yet complex. There is also a mask on this man, this one is the mask of nothingness, he carries no expression on his face, voice, or even eyes, for all intents and purposes, he is dead in spirit, I know not the whole story of why this is, but even so, there are times when his spirit awakens from its dreamless sleep and plays upon his eyes like a thousand wind chimes; these moments are for Felina and Felina only, as it should be.

Quatre R. Winner: he appears innocent and naïve at one's first glance, but closer inspection indicates that he is not what he seems, he is just a capable, and dangerous as the others, sometimes even more so for the fact that people underestimate him drastically.

Chang Wufei: he is still in morning over his lost wife. White is the color the Chinese wear when they are in morning over a lost friend or loved one. Anger and ignorance is by far the worst mask he could have chosen to wear, he is cocky, rude, "trigger happy", and… human. He wears a mask, but it isn't a mask. It is real, and yet it isn't. He understands and yet he does not understand. He is young, like the rest of us, and foolish too, as are we.

Felina Star: you will not find a mask of closer likeness to that of Duo's then Felina's; she also bares a mask of smiles and grins, but the not in the way that most would think. Tragedies from her past linger in her present. She flits around dancing and singing because she fears that her ghosts with catch up with her if she stops to rest. Beneath it all there is a wounded animal, too scared and too badly injured to take flight, and yet, there is one more layer that is beneath that of the animal; it is the child, the child that so much wants to curl up with her loved ones and not see the horrors that await her in the real world.

Jasmine (excuse me, but I haven't the time to list her full name): strangely untarnished, that is the soul of Miss Jasmine. It is as though she held a rather sheltered life, but didn't at the same time. She knows of the cruelties of the wars, yet doesn't truly see everything. So pure of heart is she that one would not believe that there was a war with her among us. So much a peace with the world, and yet, so saddened by it that she keeps her words to herself and shares only to those to ask of it.

Relena Peacecraft: a most confusing school girl that was dropped into the publics eye at her young age and so unready was she for it that I would think that it overwhelms her, though we never see it for ourselves. A fire burns within her that has the power to change things within a blink of an eye, I am yet to match wits with this young woman, but such an encounter would be deemed quite interesting indeed.

Fiora Eleri: Whatever you think of her now, forget it. The facts are that whatever you think she is; she is really the exact opposite. She is not evil, nor can she be deemed an angel, strong yet weak at the same time. She as an amazing gift, the gift of being able to switch her masks at will, and within a blink of an eye She learned this from her training, a spy would be no good if anyone could read what they were thinking, or could see past the lies and deception. A so happy with this is she that she keeps her many masks and continues to walk in the shoes of her occupation for all her days. I see the masks, but I am never to see what hides behind them, many have come close, but as of yet, she is still a riddle to all.

Me: I do not assume that I carry a mask, nor do I assume that I walk with my emotions written all over my face. I simply am. I do not try to be anything other then that. It would be nothing more then a waste of time and energy that I do not have. I care not of the issues of the day, only that I can see what is in store for me tomorrow. Look ahead, not where you stand now, nor behind you, and you will find that time doesn't care either way.

Hum, eight pages… soon to be nine by the time I'm finished I would think.

I wish to explain why I wanted Fiora to be the spy and to do such I will use the words from the Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tsu.

In which is says this:

"Thirty spokes share the wheels hub; it is the center hole that makes it useful.

Shape clay into a vessel; it is the space within that makes it useful.

Cut doors and windows for a room; it is the holes which make it useful.

Therefore profit comes from what is there; usefulness from what is not there."

Do not try to understand, simply be, that is all I ask of you.

I wish to end this with good words in passing.

To know what it is that I see when I see you, you must first look at yourself from the outside, to see past the masks you must know your own, and except them as just that… yours.

I see and yet I do not. Understanding is but one of many things that we all must learn before we can change our world.

I do not know all. Nor do I pretend to. I simply wish for the understanding, to except what I cannot change.

Give me strength to change the things I can. Peace to except the things I cannot. And the wisdom to know the difference.

All things will come back to you one day. No matter what you do, it shall be returned. The only question is; is it going to be good things or bad?

The truth shall set you free.

__

JinChi Wong.


	3. Racimous' Ep Zero

****

Racimous' Episode Zero

By Prinder

Summery: this is part three of the four part series about Jin and Fiora's lives predating AC 195. This one will go into the finer details about Fiora's Mother, her work, their Ship, their limited training, rebel missions, and the friendship between Fiora and JinChi.

Warning: nothing that I haven't said before really If you've read some of my other fics you'll know what I'm talking about.

****

Straight outta the horse's mouth

And don't you even begin to think that I'm going to ask you to pardon the expression.

My name is Racimous "Long Sword" Eleri. Friends call me Race, my sister calls me Racy, and my enemies call me whatever they damn well want!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet, like my little sister when she was still in her "innocent" years. Hard to Believe right? Not really, when you look at the facts, it all makes perfectly logical sense in the end.

We hope.

Now when I say "we" I am NOT referring to myself in the royal sense, I actually mean "We" as in my little Bro, Darren, and I.

I'm not going to brake all this up into what happened in what year, mainly because I'm not all that sure if I would get it all sorted out right, and I'll just stick to the known facts and just keep it simple enough for even Fiora to understand.

Lets get one thing straight here, I am in no ways happy that my sister is a Gundam Pilot, in fact I am down right miffed that she went against our orders to do it. But seeing as I had to choice in the matter, I decided that I was going to play along in her little game, at least, for the time being.

Secondly, I'm even more pissed at Jin cause she supported Fiora's idea! JIN! Of all people, the most unlikely one to agree with her did!

Sometimes Darren and I have to wonder if she just did that because I called her "Jinny" by mistake.

That goes double for the whole spy assignment.

But anyways, I'm getting a little ahead of myself here so I'll just back this truck up and try this again.

Maybe the year marking thing isn't such a bad idea after all…

__

Racimous Eleri.

****

March 7th AC 182.

This is exactly one year before our Mother; Dr. Jennora Eleri went to Pluto to help with that whole bio chemical mess thing. I thought that this was a good a place as any to start. Seeing as Fiora and Jin didn't really cover that.

I was already three years old by this time and I was just getting used to being "replaced" by Fiora when our little brother, Darren, was born. Don't get me wrong, I liked them and all, but I was still not all that thrilled that I wasn't the center of attention anymore.

Like Fiora, Darren and I were also "tweaked" with in our very early stages in life.

What skills did we get? Well… since you asked… I was given this trait that Mama so fondly dubbed as "Bio Tank" or BT for short. What it does is when I am in a situation that I can't get out of, say I'm surrounded by a bunch of angry goons, I just close my eyes, take a deep breath, and beat the living shit out of them! Friends have nicknamed this "Berserker mode" FYI (For Your Information), think the Incredible Hulk and you'll come pretty damn close (you know, when he gets mad he's either handing out an Ass-Kicking or Lollypops, and he's fresh outta Lollypops)

What about our little Darren, you ask? Well he's built for speed! If he can land enough of them punches he can do damage, when he needs too, but we mostly use him for drawing fire from the rest of us.

Now I don't care what Fiora says, she was designed that way for a very good reason. And it ain't for making webs of lies! Simply enough, I think she was designed for what she does on a board a ship, and it ain't what you would think she does, and always will be in my mind.

I would feel sorry for JinChi, if it weren't for the fact that she could beat the crap out of the rest of us if she wanted to, so I don't worry all that much about Fiora's little friend from the Pluto division.

****

August 17th AC 184.

Ha ha. She doesn't like the Scientists. Didn't think that she would. They're a little too two faced that most would like, too much like everyone else these days.

I remember being asked if she talked by one of the Scientists, Dr. G, I think, to which Mama replied, "Yes, she talks, just not to slimy old bats, like you G"

All of the other Scientists laughed at this, I did too, and they walked off into Mama's Lab to work on something or another.

It was at that point when Fiora Tugged on the sleeve of my shirt and I looked down at her (She might have been only one year younger then me, but she was always a midget) and promptly asked, "What now?"

She smiled one of her big toothy grins (you know, the one where you want so badly to punch her teeth out cause it's so annoying looking?), turned and dashed off to who knows where.

I needed anger management classes by six.

I flunked out from that one month later.

My Buddies still think I need it, though I am not as bad as I used to be. God I love that temper in the Eleri blood!

****

April 29th AC 185.

Ah how could I forget this year? This was the year that Oz got really anal about following THEIR rules. This was the year of endless fear for the Shuttlers (Or Shuttle Folk, as Fiora would say). There wasn't a safe place for a person to dock anymore, that is, without the Alliance breathing down our necks.

Fiora was being dramatic. I wasn't crying! If anyone was crying a river a minute it was she!

Darren and I got together not long after that and decided to form our very own attack force out of fellow Shuttle kids. Not an easy task, but we did it and we all made an oath to make Oz and the Alliance leave us alone or we would die trying!

Who said kids didn't understand war? Well, who ever did never met the Shuttlers!

****

September 1st AC 186.

Don't ask me where she picked it up. I don't know how she learned how to blow a school off of the state map! But she did, and I can't say that I'm grateful, I had friends at school, it's not my fault that Fiora, Queen of the Mime people, didn't make any!

Reading and writing before five. My ass! That is so far from the truth I didn't even think that she could say it! I had to reread that part just to see if I heard it right!

Fiora always had an overly active imagination. Figures that she would twist the truth just to make herself look good!

The truth of the matter is that Mama made a little trinket that looked something like one of those old fancy commando head sets, complete with head phones, microphone, and eye screen. She used THAT to learn everything she did when she was little. Learning how to read at age three MY ASS! That's just bull fucking shit!

I'm really sorry now that we trained her how to lie with a straight face and a clear conscience. The things people have to do to survive and win a war.

****

May 10th AC 188.

For lack of anything better to add, I guess I'm going to have to tell you what happened from my point of view on this day.

I recall the large viewing screen above us and, unlike Fiora, I heard what was said.

An old man in a fancy red soldier's uniform interrupted a commercial about some kind of Toothpaste.

"People of Colony L1X-18999! We have you surrounded, hand over the rebel scientists now or prepare to be destroyed!" the man on the screen bellowed out. 

You would think that with the choices given, they would hand over those scientists and be done with it!

Just goes to show that not everyone thinks clearly when a blaster riffle is aimed at his or her ass.

But what happens? All hell brakes lose that's what!

Dad, Darren and I were running for the ship when it happened. Mobile suits appeared out of nowhere! Guns were going off left and right, but did I panic?

HELL YEAH!

I pulled my pistol from the back of my pants (yeah I know, what the hell is a seven year-old doing with a gun? It's a war going on remember? People do stupid things when there is a war going on! Giving a child a gun is one of them) and emptied the whole clip into that over-sized gun-toting tin-man! It didn't even leave a scratch!

By the time that Fiora showed up we were holed up behind a wall and quickly running out of ammo.

At this point I would like to say: He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.

Three guesses on what we did when we got the chance.

B-I-N-G-O. We ran our sorry looking hides out of there so fast it would make your heads spin!

Out of all of us, I was the one that faired the worst with a busted shoulder, and a cracked rib. Funny thing is, I didn't even feel it.

I don't pick up signals that my body sends me when I'm in pain it seems, go figures. Mama really did make a Human tank.

Dad had to forcibly wrench open Fiora's fist to get at that damned necklace and asked her how she got it.

Now let me just tell you that it is was a well-known fact that Mama loved that Necklace and would never take it off, let alone give it to anyone. So when Dad saw that the chain was snapped, he snapped.

Fiora said that Mama had said that she could have it. Once again I need to stress that Mama NEVER took that necklace off, the only way for Fiora to get that necklace Mama would have had to be dead.

That one thought was a real eye-opener. If it were possible, light bulbs would have lit up above our heads at that moment.

But they didn't and the only thing that gave away such a thought was Dad yelling that it was wrong to steal from the dead.

Fiora ran off when Dad was in mid-sentence and hid out for the rest of the day.

Dad gave it back to her two weeks later with a small wooden box. I never did find out what was in that thing, Fiora wouldn't open it, let alone give me the necklace to see for myself!

Stubborn little shit.

****

October 12th AC 189.

There is nothing more evil in my mind then our Aunt Kiora.

Damned woman looks like a Pepto-Bismol showgirl reject.

Darren, Fiora and I spent many of our years plotting ways to get rid of her without killing her. We never did manage to pull it off.

Now as you all know, Fiora worked as an engineer on Dad's ship, but do you know what Darren and I worked?

No clue, do you?

Well Darren's the Pilot and the Navigator while I'm in charge of Security and Cargo.

Sometimes I wonder how it is that we manage to run Dad's ship with so few people, it was built for a large crew and we run it with only six men and women on board!

Aunt Kiora is in charge of the Med-bay and the Communications system, our Uncle (actually he's just a friend of my Dad's) Drconous manages the Mess hall and the ships Defenses while Dad tackles whatever jobs need to be done elsewhere on the ship.

An unknown fact here, I was named after my Dad's father, Rhys, and my dad's old friend, Drconous, hence my name Recimous.

Fiora doesn't say this but she has another job on board ship, granted she doesn't do it a lot, and I think she's actually come to hate it. What is this so-called "Job" you might ask? She's our weapon system.

I know, I know. That really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I can explain! 

It works just like this:

On every Cargo Shuttle there are these things we call "Lighting Codes"

To put it simply, when ever the lights on the ship change it means that it is in a different kind of mode.

I'll list the light colors for you:

Blue: when the lights are blue, it means that the ship's defense systems are running, which means that it's able to avoid attack and escape quickly if need be.

White: when the lights are like this it means that the ship's more advanced systems are "hidden" from other ship's scanners. This is normally used when Oz or the Alliance is in the area.

Green: this mode is known as the "dead man's warning" basically what happens is that the ship is running out of fuel and/or resources and will soon be stranded if help doesn't make it in time. This is also used when the ship is badly damaged. It's basically; it's a way of telling other ships that you need assistance.

Red: Battle mode! When this one does off Fiora makes a beeline to the weapon's main control room where she goes into this weird machine that works like a kind of interface with the computer and the person inside of it. Makes for faster attacks.

And that's it, that's all of the modes that the ship has basically.

Anyway, back to the story.

Now that Aunty was hell bent on turning Fiora into her namesake (Fiore means flower in Italian and Fiora is a spin off of the word Fiore, hence Fiora's name also means flower) we would take every chance we could get to get out of there and way from her.

Somehow or an other we ended up honing in on our fighting skills during most of the time and soon we were a pretty good fighting force, if I do say so myself.

Unknown to Fiora, Darren had long ago formed that little Co-op of Shuttlers and were just now letting her join the "club"

It just about figures that Fiora would try to take some credit for it.

At least she got the part about me being the boss right!

****

July 4th AC 190.

Independence day. How fitting for what happened.

First of all, Darren doesn't run unless he needs to. He's more of a sprinter then an all out runner when you think about it.

Second of all, the rebels didn't want anything to do with us; it was WE that wanted to talk to THEM not the other way around.

Thirdly, we were already fighting with the "big boys" LONG before the colony brats even thought about pulling together into a rebel group! If anything THEY were the ones that were the amateurs!

The only truth to her version of this story is that they did want us to meet them under that weird bridge, but as for the cold knee-deep water? Fiora tripped on a rock and fell into it, the rest of us were as dry as ever. What a moron!

I'm thinking that she was somewhat right about them being surprised about us being just kids. But I don't recall her doing as much talking as she claimed to be doing.

Okay, let me stress that no matter what THEY think, we weren't taking orders from them, they were taking orders from US, and they just didn't know it.

God I love being sneaky.

****

August 13th AC 193.

Changing of the winds. HA! My ass! Why the hell does she always have to dance around the facts and the points? Jesus Wept!

She might not have looked at the goofy disk but that sure as hell don't mean that I didn't!

What was on that disk you ask? It contained not only the blue prints for Fiora's soon-to-be Gundam, but it also carried a list of people that were in on Op. M.! I still can't believe that that idiot didn't even THINK about looking at that thing!

Just goes to show how un-spy-like Fiora really was.

Okay… let me just stop here and tell you something that Fiora asked me once when she first heard of Romafeller, she said, and I quote, "WHA? Just who in the hell ARE these people? What the fuck! Just who in the hell is AROMA FELLA?"

I ain't shitting here, she actually called them "Aroma Fella" 

Ladies and Gents, Fiora and her joking slang!

I'm getting annoyed with remembering the past, I need to punch something. I'll be back.

…I have returned! Did you miss me? Heh. Didn't think so.

Ah yes! This was when "Jinny" came into the picture.

I don't know if what they said was true to life, but I do know about the many missions after it.

I don't think there was ever a time when they DIDN'T get back from a mission not mad at each other.

JinChi would say that Fiora was taking too many unnecessary risks, while little Sparky would argue that the only reason she had to make those risks was because of little goody two boots, JinChi, didn't want to play the her game by the rules.

Okay, I'm going to stop, AGAIN, and explain something.

Ever wonder why she calls the her missions games?

I'll admit, I had a role in all that. It was the only way we could teach her how to do it and make it stick within that mind set of hers.

Fiora has the mindset of a twelve year-old, she think, feels, and acts like she's twelve years old.

Well… maybe not quite as far as that, she PRETENDS to be suck at that age, but really she's just playing one of her favorite games.

Which we all so fondly call: The village idiot.

Why does she do that? Your guess is as good as mine here!

Maybe she just likes using it as an advantage, or maybe she just likes the look of it. I don't really know.

All that I do know is this: Nobody questions an idiot for the fear of being seen as one himself.

****

May 9th AC 194.

Well I'll be damned! I'm FINALLY almost done with this damned thing! Took me long enough!

"Jinny" strikes again! Sometimes I have to wonder just how it is that those two haven't killed each other yet! They're always getting each other into messes that they can't handle!

But, as much as I'd hate to admit it, JinChi is good for Sissy, and in a way, Spark is good for Jin too.

They compliment each other. What one is, the other isn't.

Fiora makes JinChi "live" so to speak, she makes JinChi do things spontaneously, while Jin keeps Fiora's feet firmly planted on the ground and out of trouble that she would get into without Jin's guidance.

Fiora is wild while Jin is tame.

Jin is calm and colleted while Fiora is unfocused and panicking.

Fiora is carefree while Jin is serious.

But in some ways, they are vary much the same.

Jin is like air, calmly blowing through the trees, but, when the need be, she becomes a tornado, ready and willing to destroy everything in her path.

While Fiora is like water, gentle and wild at the same time. Like a river, calm and peaceful, yet swift and dangerous all the same.

Didn't know that I was so poetic, did you?

But I've gotten sidetracked once again so lets get back to the problems at hand.

Fiora hates guns. She never told us why though. And when the rebel man tried to teach her how to use one she refused to do it, saying: "I can do just as much, if not more, damage with my knives then with that thing! I ain't gonna be no killer! You want a spy! And that's what I'm gonna be! But if you think for one moment that I'm gonna carry that thing, well then you've got another thing comin' pal!"

JinChi intervened and said, "If she so desires, then she shouldn't have the need for a weapon such as that, she has managed to get this far without one, lets see her make it the rest of the way the same"

It finally dawns on me how close they really are. They understand each other, though they would never admit to it.

Jin is too proud and Fiora is too stubborn for that.

****

Last impressions.

Okay, so maybe this is more about my Sister and her friend then it is about me. But hey! I'm more of a background person then a center ring man!

This is the part where I leave you with my understandings of the world around us right now.

I wasn't wrong in dragging Fiora into all this, though, she might have been better off back at home, but someone needed to be the voice of the shuttlers, to be the voice of the people, who for so long have had nothing to say, and take a stand.

I wasn't that person, as tough as I am, I can't be that person.

It's not just what she says, but how she says it that makes people stand up and take notice of her.

If I were to do that, all that would have happened is a lot of people would end up feeling threatened by me, and that wouldn't have gotten us anywhere.

Fiora is a lot of things, but she isn't threatening, she has a way with words that can scare people, but deep down, she could never carry out half of those threats and everyone knows it.

that's including herself.

And what of JinChi? Well, I'll admit, I never knew that she had that kind of potential, a valuable jewel where a lump of coal once lay.

She really knows how to make things all pull together, sometimes I wonder if Fiora ever would have even made it inside the Gundam Pilot HQ without Jin's help and guidance.

Well, that's just about it, I suppose.

__

This is Racimous Eleri signing off.


	4. Darren's Ep Zero, also known as Ask Dare

****

Darren's Episode Zero

By Prinder 

Summery: This is part four of the Ep. Zero series and it will be done in Darren's point of view. This one will TRY to focus on the happier times before Op. M.

Warnings: Wow! What do you know? There aren't going to be any warnings in this one! He's a saint! Lol well there might be some swearing, but other then that nothing.

****

Let the games begin…

Hello, I'm Darren Eleri, Racimous and Fiora's little brother.

And unlike my Brother, I won't have to go into the whole year-by-year play-by-play thing that the others did.

I'm going to be answering questions about Spider (Fiora).

So by all means, ask away.

__

Darren Eleri-Long sword.

****

About me.

Not a bad place to start, I guess.

You already know my name, how old I am, my family, and what I do for a living.

That doesn't leave a whole lot left for me to say, at least, I don't think so.

Ah well, I'll give it a shot anyways.

Name: Darren Eleri

Code/Nick names: The Human Bullet, Black lightning and Dare.

DOB: August 28th AC 181.

Age: 16 in the year AC 197.

Hair: Black.

Eyes: Dark brown.

Blood type: A negative.

Ethnic Origin: Cummry (known to outsiders as Wales)

Name meaning: Darren is a spin off of my Father's name, Gethin (Darren, Gethin, they sound alike… kind of), and Eleri is Cummrige (Welsh) for River.

Weight: 118 lbs.

Height: 5' 11"

Rank on ship: Pilot and Navigator.

Ship's name: Y Garm Caregu (Welsh for The Dark Stone).

Family: Gethin (Father), Racimous (Brother), Fiora (sister), Drconous (uncle), Kiora (aunt).

Favorite food: Candy.

Favorite color: Blue.

Friends: Andrew Masters (you've never met him, so don't ask).

That's about it I think.

****

Q and A.

Lets start this out right… you ask the questions, I answer them to the best of my knowledge.

Q. How did Fiora get Knight?

A. That's an easy one. She found him. You see, way back when, she was walking in this dark ally on Venus (and we all know how seedy that place can get!), she was 12 then by-the-way, and she walked right into a bunch of "Gang Bangs" who were messing some old dude up something awful! Anyways, they took after her and the next thing she knows she's cornered! So there she is, caught stuck between a rock and a VERY hard place, when out of the blue jumps this mean, scraggly looking mutt (Knight) and starts growling and snapping at those dudes like he was the devil himself! Well, they didn't want to mess with no dog (the chickens pick on only old people and little girls, in case you haven't noticed) and booked it out of there, leaving Sissy alone with the mutt. So what does she do? She takes it home of course! And she calls the dumb thing Knight, because he was her knight in shining black armor when she needed him.

Q. Why doesn't Fiora use guns?

A. She doesn't like them. She's got this thought in her head that it takes a gun to be a killer. And for that same reason she only uses bladed weapons, such as her knives.

Q. Why all the Nicknames?

A. For whom? Fiora? I don't really know why she has so many, I think it's because people have this crazy idea that they have to define her, to identify who and what she is. As for Race and I? We simply like coming up with names for ourselves, that's all.

Q. Why did Dr. Jennora alter your DNA?

A. Your guess is as good as mine here. I don't really know. It might have been for some sort of mission like Op. M. it could also be something as simple as she was just using us as test subjects, either that, or she was just bored.

Ha ha! I made a funny.

Q. How come you have so few people to run your ship?

A. Because we do? No, actually, it's really because we don't have many people left in our family TO run it with a larger crew. We don't really worry about it though. We can manage well enough with what we've got.

Q. Why Does Fiora have an attitude problem?

A. You're trying to get me killed aren't you? Okay, I said I was going to answer your questions and that's just what I'm going to do! Oh boy…. Fiora as a Napoleon complex, she's a little girl trying to be a big one. The best (and worst) way to put this is like this, think REALLY small, yippy dog; it couldn't hurt anything even if it wanted to! So what does it do? It barks. It barks and barks until it gets so GODDAMNED ANNOYING! That you want to strangle it just to shut the damned thing UP! All it's really trying to do is make it seem a whole lot tougher by talking big, but in the end? All that it does is succeed in becoming the preverbal "thorn in your side" that you just want to get rid of as quickly as humanly possible! This is where Fiora gets her attitude.

A. How can Fiora be so "Evil" one moment then just like her normal self the next?

Q. One word: Acting. Fiora pretends to be evil and cairned so that people are less likely to try to fight with her; in other words, she uses intimidation to scare her foe into thinking that she really could beat the living shit out of them. This also goes right back to the yippy dog theory.

Q. Why aren't you and Race Gundam Pilots like Fiora?

A. Race couldn't pilot a ship out of a paper bag for one. As for me? Well let's just say that I wasn't in the mood for having mean, nasty, and butt ugly Scientists poking and prodding me on some cold med-bed before they would allow it.

Q. Why did Race Call JinChi "Jinny"?

A. Cause he's an idiot. No, actually he was just talking too fast for his own good and it came out that way, think about it, JinChi, Jinny, they sound very much alike.

Q. Why do you play such a minor role?

A. We Eleris are background workers; we hate the spotlight and all of the attention that being something like a Gundam Pilot would bring to us.

Q. Then why did Fiora become one?

A. Cause she's a moron? No, actually she just got sucked up into the action, as always, and thought it a good idea at the time, that and the fact that she's always been one to go against the flow of things.

Q. What happened to the old man that was being attacked by the "Gang bangs" when Fiora first got Knight?

A. She didn't say. I think he's dead, but you never can tell when it involves Sissy.

Q. Why are all of the Episode Zeros so Different?

A. That's because different people told the Ep. Zeros. Duh! Of course they would be told from a different point of view each time.

Q. Why IS Fiora in love with Duo?

A. Ha ha! I couldn't help but put that one in there. I don't really know. Fiora's strange, she doesn't think like everyone else, sometimes I wonder if she even thinks at all. But really, I never knew my Sissy to be the Lovey Dovey type, so this is all news to me!

Q. Who does Fiora hate the most and why?

A. Fiora doesn't hate anyone really; at least, that's what she claims. If it was anyone, it would have to be our Aunt Kiora, the Woman spends every waking moment plotting ways to "Girly-ize" Fiora at every chance she can get.

Q. What about Jin? Who does she hate the most?

A. Hum… don't really know. Probably Race, because of that whole "Jinny" thing.

Q. What about like?

A. Out of we Eleris, that would have to be Fiora, but even then, that's pretty iffy though.

Q. Love?

A. Are you blind or something? She clearly likes Mr. "I hate women." himself. Don't ask me why, I think she just likes the challenge of getting on his good side. That's JinChi for you! Always trying to prove she's better then everyone else.

Q. Who Does Fiora LIKE the most?

A. I'm not Fiora. I wouldn't know.

Q. What is with that morbid sense of humor?

A. We have a sense of humor? No, actually, it's the only kind you CAN have after you've seen the kinds of things that we have growing up.

Q. Why does Race hate the Gundam Pilots?

A. Cause you guys hate us. That and the fact that one of them (Cough! Duo Cough!) Has gotten a little too close to his little sister then he would have liked.

Q. Why all the weird "one thing but really the opposite" sayings in the other episode zero?

A. We Shuttlers like to try and confuse you people, and all of that backwards talk helps accomplish it.

Q. Why do you say "You People" as if we're different?

A. Cause you are. No, actually, that's just our quiet way of stating that you AREN'T the ones that are different from everyone else, WE are. We aren't trying to single you all out; we're trying to single ourselves out.

Q. The summery said that this Ep. Zero was going to be focused on the happier times for you guys, what happened to that?

A. If you ask the right questions it will, I'm only answering them, remember?

Q. What are you most afraid of?

A. You mean, as in a phobia? I hate heights for one. Race isn't all that fond of water (for some strange reason he floats like a rock). And Fiora, believe it or not, as this huge fear of Bugs, that's right bugs. It's so bad that she starts screaming and shouting like it's the end of the world and runs for the hills if she so much as even sees a fake one!

Q. Why did Fiora name her Gundam Gem?

A. You know that funny necklace of our mom's that she wears around her neck all of the time? Well, that ain't why. She actually named it Gem because of three reasons. One was because Mama was actually the one who came up with the original specs for the gundam. And two is because one of Mama's old nicknames WAS Gem, she was referred to as The Gem of Dark Stone. Don't ask me WHY she was called that, I just don't know. The third reason actually is because of the strange red gem-like things that act as solar panels, that's how Gem builds up its energy level, that are all over the thing.

Q. Why Does Fiora like the rain so much?

A. Why not? Actually, she likes it because when we were little she used to think that it was Mama crying from heaven to wash away her own sadness, she said that she thought this way because she always felt better after she played out in the rain after a long and depressing day. Fiora's always been a major cornball when it came to stuff like that.

Q. Why is Fiora afraid of bugs?

A. She had a very traumatic moment involving a fly. I was told that when Sissy was three she and Race were playing out in this field, when suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, Race slapped his hand onto her ear! As it turns out, he happened to see a bug and swatted it right into Fiora's ear canal and got it stuck there! Can't say that I don't blame her for being afraid of them after that! Yuck!

Q. Why was Fiora so quiet when she was younger?

A. She didn't have anything to say? I don't know. That's what she claims to be the truth, but with Fiora, nothing ever really is just that… the truth.

Q. Did JinChi ever have a pet?

A. Yeah actually, I think she had a pet bird when she was little. It was a Nightingale I do believe.

Q. What about you and Racimous?

A. No not really. One dog was enough for us… besides that, Aunt Kiora has cats and they don't get along well with other animals.

Q. Why are you answering these questions and not Fiora or Jin, who would know more about them then you would?

A. Sometimes I wonder that myself. I think it's because you can only have so many different points of view on the same story before it starts to drag, and sense I'm the youngest and my memories of from when we were younger aren't as great, I kind of figured that this would be the best way for me to go with my Episode Zero.

Q. What are your Image songs?

A. I'm assuming that you want to know everybody's image songs here. I've made a list of them below.

Fiora's: Standing outside the fire, never liked the rain.

Jin's: Fallow me, Survivor.

Race's: My way, one step closer.

Me: Superman, in the end.

Mixed people: Bitch, Rearranged.

Shuttle folk: Space Cowboys.

Gundam Pilots: Kryptonite, Mad Season, Bent, If You're Gone.

Note that the "mixed people" songs are for more then one person, more then one singing basically. And the "Shuttle folk" ones are for, you guessed it, Shuttlers, think of it as a theme song for us and you won't be very far off from the truth. And in case you haven't figured it out, the one that says "Gundam Pilots" are songs that I think would work for you guys. You all are more then welcome to add to the list.

Q. Why does Jin always act like she has a great big stick shoved up her butt?

A. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I just couldn't resist adding that one… though; it might be the death of me, knowing JinChi and all. Anyways, I don't really think that she means to act like that, I think it more has to do with that pride and ego of hers; she feels herself to be of something far better then most Shuttlers, so she has this way of looking down at those the most like her, whether or not she knows that she does this I cannot be sure, but it seems as that although she views herself better then the rest those from her humble roots, she also believes that she must prove such accusations. Hence why she spends most of her free time perfecting herself, in mind, body, and spirit, if you will. So in the end, she comes off as being too high and mighty for her own good, if you know what I mean.

Q. Why does it always seem like everything boils down to Fiora and JinChi with you guys?

A. They play the largest roles so why not make them the center of all the attention? If it keeps the ever-probing and questioning eyes off of us, then why not? Like I said before, we're background people.

Q. What on earth ever happened to manners in your family?

A. Manners, what the hell is that? Ha ha! I made another funny. Actually, we do know manners; we have rather good manners actually, just not in the form that you people are used to seeing.

Q. What the heck does that mean?

A. Easily put, it means that we aren't used to all that polite talk that everybody else does. Our form of manners is better expressed when lined up in front of military officers and guns.

Q. Would you please explain?

A. Sure thing, I've made a list of the things that we do below:

1. The first thing that happens is we all walk calmly out of the ship with our heads down and our arms flat at our sides, basically we try to look as pitiful as humanly possible.

2. When asked a question, always respond with a "Yes sir", "No sir" or, if you are addressing a woman (which is very rare) "Yes Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" works.

3. Never, EVER make eye contact with a soldier. It makes them think that you're challenging them and they'll make it a point to make sure that you leave the docks on a med-bed.

4. Don't speak unless spoken to. That's like making a death wish to the devil himself.

5. Don't talk back. Not unless you're going to be squealing on a fellow shuttler, and in that case, said shuttler will beat your sorry ass for it. That is, if he/she is even still alive, and in that case, his/her friends will do it for them.

6. Never, EVER trust a soldier; they'll always screw you over in the end.

7. Never, EVER help a shuttler if they get jumped on by soldiers, that'll only get YOU killed.

8. Playing stupid is the ONLY way to get information from a soldier. Doesn't hurt if you're pretty and/or got two pretty girls attached to you at the hip.

9. Never, EVER tell a fellow shuttler ANYTHING that might be cause for you to be beat on by a soldier. They'll always squeal on you.

That's it all of the rules right there. Sorry, it doesn't look like it has anything to do with manners after all.

Q. What are Gem's stats?

A. I've listed them below.

Name: Gem.

Registry number: XXXG-07JE/G

Height: 14.2 meters  
Weight: 5.6 tons  
Material: gundanium  
Armaments: Vulcan GunX2, Beam SwordX2, Beam ShieldX1, Radar CloakX1, Electro BeamX1, Solar gem chargers.  
Fighting Ability: 125  
Weapons Ability: 120  
Speed Ability: 180  
Powered Ability: 170  
Armored Ability: 120

Q. What about Race, Fiora, and Jin's stats?

A. I guess it's only fair since you've seen mine already.

Name: Racimous (you already know the last names).

Code/Nick names: The Human wall, Tank, Hercules, Race, Racy, Tiny (don't ask).

DOB: January 28th AC 179.

Age: 18 in AC 197.

Hair: Mahogany.

Eyes: Dark brown.

Blood type: AB negative.

Ethnic Origin: Cummry. 

Name meaning: Racimous is a cross between Gethin's Father Rhys and his best friend Drconous. Eleri is Cummrige for River.

Weight: 230 lbs.

Height: 7' 6"

Rank on ship: Security and Cargo.

Ship's name: Y Garm Caregu.

Family: Gethin, Fiora, Drconous, Darren (me), Kiora.

Favorite food: Chili Peppers.

Favorite color: Red.

Friends: Darren, Kyle (you haven't met him either).

Name: Wong, JinChi.

Code/Nick: Chinese Nightshade (that's a poisonous flower, it's deadly by touch and scent), Jinny (ha ha!), Jin.

DOB: September 26th AC 180.

Age: 17 in AC 197.

Hair: Black.

Eyes: Ebon (Black/Ebony).

Blood type: O positive.

Ethnic Origin: Chinese.

Name meaning: Jin is Chinese for Gold. Chi is a kind of energy (think Tai Chi, which is a kind of fighting style, I do believe), and Wong is actually a rather common last name in China.

Weight: 98 lbs. (she's a stick! Jeez!)

Height: 5' 3"

Rank on ship: Field doctor and Scientist.

Family: Grandfather (Wong Chin).

Favorite food: Syaumei (that's a kind of dumpling).

Favorite Color: Purple, gold.

Friends: Fiora, Gundam Pilots.

Name: Fiora

Code/Nick: Spark, Sparky, Spider, Pet, Puppet, Fido, Sissy, Fi, Trouble Maker, Mah Fahn Yau, Fiore, Baby, Dolly, Gnat, Pest, Toy, Heaven's little Demon… (The list goes on)

DOB: June 21st AC 180.

Age: 17 in AC 197.

Hair: Mahogany.

Eyes: Honey Brown.

Blood type: OB positive.

Ethnic Origin: Cummry.

Name meaning: Fiora means Flower.

Weight: 89 lbs.

Height: 5' 4" (that's WITH she shoes on!)

REAL height: 4' 11" (told you she was small)

Rank on ship: Engineer and Weapons control.

Family: (See Race's or mine)

Favorite food: Rocky road ice cream.

Favorite color: Red, black, blue (also known as the John Doe color scheme).

Friends: (you already know this I'm sure)

Well that's it… I think this covers everything.

****

The End (finally!)

__

Darren Eleri. 


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